Lawyer held in contempt for advising clients to retake foreclosed home

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Barbara Lane has found controversial lawyer Michael T. Pines in contempt of court for advising clients Jim and Danielle Earl to reclaim their foreclosed home in Simi Valley.

His sentence is to pay $2,000 in fines and more than $34,000 in legal fees and costs incurred by Thousand Oaks-based Conejo Capital Partners, investors who purchased the home after the Earls lost it at auction.

In a 25-page ruling issued Wednesday, the judge did not cite the Earls for contempt, opting to excuse them for having relied on the advice of their lawyer. She also chose not to incarcerate Pines or the Earls.

The judge had the option of fining Pines and the Earls $1,000 apiece for each of three alleged acts of contempt, and/or she could have jailed each of them for up to five days.

The Earls lost legal title to their former residence in the 5800 block of Mustang Drive after they stopped paying their mortgage because of financial problems. It was sold in January 2010 to Conejo Capital Partners, but the Earls remained in the property, delaying an eviction by filing for bankruptcy and taking advantage of the bankruptcy code's automatic stay provisions.

In June, Conejo Capital Partners won the right to possession at an unlawful detainer trial in Ventura County and the Earls were evicted in July. The investment group spent thousands of dollars renovating the home and were in the process of selling it when the Earls broke into the home in October. The Earls were again evicted but continued interfering with Conejo Capital Partners by threatening to break back in.

Lane makes clear in the ruling that she was frustrated with the entire group, especially Pines.

She points out that he willfully skipped a January contempt hearing, misused the bankruptcy courts, ran up Conejo Capital Partners' expenses, willfully violated the law, disregarded court orders, and "orchestrated, procured, led and aided the Earls in breaking into a property he knew they no longer owned."

She also itemized the unprofessional manner in which Pines has conducted himself on behalf of the Earls: failing to pay fees to properly appeal their unlawful detainer judgment; misapplying the law; and filing numerous state and federal lawsuits over the Earls' property and then abandoning them at an early stage.

In addition to the state lawsuits, Lane counted six federal suits that have been filed since the late fall of 2009. His "modus operandi" is to file a new lawsuit in a different court every time his legal arguments are rejected by a court, the judge wrote.

With respect to the Earls, Lane said they escape contempt "this time." She italicized the words, stressing that they're on notice that she won't be so lenient should this situation present itself again in her courtroom.

The judge directed Pines to promptly deliver a copy of her order to the Earls so they'd be "forewarned that they too may be held in contempt if their misguided actions with respect to the Mustang Drive property should continue."

Conejo Capital Partners' expenses could be more than the $34,000 tallied so far. The investors have been instructed to itemize their costs and submit an invoice to the court. Once finalized, Pines will have 60 days to pay. Lane noted that he won't be able to utilize the bankruptcy court's automatic stay provision to avoid paying. Those provisions "do not bar the instant proceeding for contempt," she stressed in her ruling.